"I'm almost scared to admit this, but one thing has stopped me collapsing in a puddle of misery on the floor. While each of the previous Potter books has strong claims on my affections, Deathly Hallows is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."

The title was first released to the public through a hangman game posted by J. K. Rowling on her official website on December 21st, 2006. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed by the publishers. Rowling left a note, written on a bust of Hermes in her room at the Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh, saying, "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan 2007". On her website she said, "While each of the previous Potter books has strong claims on my affections, Deathly Hallows is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series." She has previously said that although all the books carry on the story, Deathly Hallows is more a continuation of the story in the previous book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, than has been the case with any other book in the series. It is the fastest selling book of all time, selling 15 million copies in the first 24 hours.

Contents

Book description

Harry is waiting in 4 Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing—if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him?

Plot

"That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs... I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be."

"Stripping away the popular image of serene, silver-bearded wisdom, Rita Skeeter reveals the disturbed childhood, the lawless youth, the lifelong feuds and the guilty secrets Dumbledore carried to his grave."

—Description of Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore's life.

Harry looking at the shard of the Two-Way Mirror given to him by Sirius Black.

Harry Potter, meanwhile, is rummaging through his school trunk, sorting what he will need to take with him from what will be left behind. While taking a break, he reads some articles about Albus Dumbledore. One is sympathetic, the other critical. In those obituaries, it is revealed that Dumbledore's father, Percival, supposedly hated Muggles and had attacked three Muggle boys, earning himself imprisonment in Azkaban, where he later died. The other article is an interview of Rita Skeeter, concerning a forthcoming biography of Dumbledore entitled The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, in which she hints that Dumbledore was responsible for the death of his younger sister Ariana, and that he was, at one time, a wizarding supremacist withGellert Grindelwald.

Harry begins having regrets about not having asked Dumbledore more about his past, but this is soon forgotten as he leaves his home that night. He convinces his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley that they need to leave as well to avoid being captured by the Death Eaters. Eventually Order of the Phoenix members, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, arrive to escort them to an undisclosed location. Before leaving, Dudley admits that he cares about Harry and thanks him for saving his soul during the Dementor attack of 1995, and they shake hands. Aunt Petunia burst into tears saying what a gentleman Dudley was, yet Hestia Jones objected, saying he didn't really say "Thank you".

Soon after, the Order of the Phoenix arrives with a plan to sneak Harry away from his house and avoid being captured by Voldemort. After initially opposing the plan, Harry acquiesces, seeing that he has no choice, and Ron, Fred, and George Weasley, along with Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, and Mundungus Fletcher, take Polyjuice Potion to make themselves look like Harry, in order to act as decoys for Voldemort. Each depart with a different Order member to protect them while riding on broomsticks or Thestrals, while Harry leaves with Hagrid in a side-car attached to Sirius's motorcycle. However, the plan goes badly wrong as the group is attacked by Death Eaters almost immediately after taking off, during which Hedwig is killed. Harry fights off Death Eaters by firing curses and hexes at them, while Hagrid uses a number of gadgets the motorcycle is now equipped with: a deployable solid brick wall, a net, and a dragon fire booster.

"Pathetic, Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?"

—Fred, to George Weasley.

The survivors at the Burrow.

The Death Eaters discover the real Harry after he attempts to disarm an imperiusedStan Shunpike. Moments later, Voldemort joins in the pursuit. Hagrid leaps off the bike at another Death Eater, and as Voldemort is about to kill Harry, Harry's wand acts of its own accord and shoots a curse at Voldemort that breaks Lucius's wand. Voldemort attempts to strike again, but at that moment, Harry enters the protective charms of the Tonks' home, and Voldemort and the Death Eaters are unable to follow him.

Harry finds Hagrid, who had survived his fall, and meets Tonks' parents, Ted and Andromeda. The couple show the two a Portkey, which transports them straight to the Burrow. There, the casualties are counted: Hedwig was killed by a Killing Curse from a Death Eater ; George's ear was cursed off by Severus Snape; Mad-Eye Moody was killed by Voldemort himself. Harry later has a vision regarding his escape, as a result of a connection between his and Voldemort's minds, in which Voldemort questions Garrick Ollivander, who crafted the wands, about why Harry's wand acted as it did. Ollivander is unable to explain.

"It's like being a house-elf. Except without the job satisfaction. The sooner this wedding's over, the happier I'll be."

—Ron about the wedding preparations

During their time at the Burrow, Harry, Hermione and Ron are kept busy with preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding, which Harry suspects is an attempt by Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, to stop their planning and delay their departure. Nevertheless, they manage to get together and discuss their plans for completing the quest Dumbledore left them, to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes.

The day before the wedding, Harry's 17th birthday, Harry dreams of Voldemort searching for someone known as "Gregorovitch." For his birthday, he receives a number of gifts, the most useful being a new sneakoscope from Hermione. He also shares a short romantic embrace with his ex-girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. Knowing that he was about to leave, she passionately kisses him as something to remember her by, which Ron "accidentally" interrupts. Later in the day, Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, arrives at the Burrow to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione the personal effects of Albus Dumbledore, which had been bequeathed to them in his will: To Ron, the Deluminator, with the power to douse all lights in the surrounding area; to Hermione, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of wizard-culture fairy tales written in Runes; and to Harry, Godric Gryffindor's Sword, and the first Golden Snitch Harry had ever caught in a Hogwarts Quidditch match. The sword was withheld because, Scrimgeour claimed, it was not Dumbledore's to give. The three try to discover the purpose of the objects given to them, but are forced to give their attention to other matters, specifically Fleur and Bill's wedding the following day.

Shacklebolt's Patronus, warning the guests that the Ministry has fallen.

Harry disguises himself as "Ron's cousin" Barny Weasley for the wedding to avoid causing an uproar. After the ceremony, while Ron and Hermione are dancing Harry speaks with Elphias Doge and Ron's great aunt Muriel from whom he learns more less than savory details from Dumbledore's past; Dumbledore had had a sister, Ariana, whose existence had been hushed up by the family, and who Muriel believes was a squib. During the wedding celebration, Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus arrives to warn the attendants that Lord Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and Rufus Scrimgeour has been killed.

"Where else is there? We can hardly book rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, can we? And Grimmauld Place is out if Snape can get in there... I suppose we could try my parents’ house, though I think there’s a chance they might check there..."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione flee the wedding, first arriving on Tottenham Court Road in Muggle London. There, they quickly make for a cafétosettle down and decide their next course of action.
Though they think themselves safe for the moment, two Death Eaters suddenly locate them, almost immediately upon their arrival, and attack them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione manage to defeat the Death Eaters, but thinking themselves in danger in public, flee to 12 Grimmauld Place, former Order headquarters, where they hide. Although there was some debate whether Severus Snape could get in, with reinforcement Death Eaters, but their fears were soon realised to be untrue as they reached the dilapidated house.

The first morning there, Harry finds the name Regulus Arcturus Black, the deceased younger brother of his also deceased godfather Sirius, and a former Death Eater, on a bedroom door. Harry realises that Regulus was the "R.A.B." from the fake Horcrux locket Harry found with Dumbledore, and he, Hermione, and Ron begin searching the house for the real one. They soon surmise that the locket had indeed been in the house, at one time. Unable to find it, they call upon Kreacher, the Black family's house-elf. Kreacher tells the trio that he had helped Voldemort place the real Horcrux in the cave. After Regulus learned of this, however, he had ordered Kreacher to return with him to the cave in order to substitute a fake locket for the real one, as the Black family would have been safer not involved in Voldemort's affairs. Regulus was killed in the process while Kreacher escaped with the Horcrux locket. Kreacher also tells them that Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket, and they send him to find Fletcher.

"I dunno, some Ministry hag... Little woman. Bow on top of ’er head... Looked like a toad."

—Mundungus, describing Umbridge.

Lupin at Grimmauld Place.

While waiting for Kreacher, the trio are visited by Order member Remus Lupin. He explains more of the situation: the Voldemort-controlled Ministry and Death Eaters are searching for Harry, claiming that he had a part in Dumbledore's death, and the Ministry is now openly persecuting Muggle-born wizards and witches. He then offers to join the trio in their quest, not wanting to remain with his wife Nymphadora Tonks, who is pregnant with their child, because he fears the child will be a werewolf like him. Harry calls him a coward for abandoning his son, and Lupin angrily storms off. Later, Kreacher brings Fletcher back to 12 Grimmauld Place, but he has already given away the locket to Dolores Umbridge as a bribe.

"But if my wife were accused of being a Mudblood,” said Yaxley, “— not that any woman I married would ever be mistaken for such filth — and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I would make it my priority to do that job, Cattermole. Do you understand me?"

"Oh yes — an old family heirloom. The S stands for Selwyn... I am related to the Selwyns... Indeed, there are few pure-blood families to whom I am not related... A pity, that the same cannot be said for you. ‘Parents’ professions: greengrocers.’ "

—Umbridge, about the locket.

Moody's eye

After being separated, Harry discovers "Mad-Eye" Moody 's magical eye has been taken by Umbridge. Thinking it a disgrace to Moody's memory to keep it stuck in Umbridge's door, he steals the eye, so as to give it a proper burial and the respect it deserves. Once Harry reunites with Hermione, he witnesses the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, set up to convict Muggle-borns of "stealing" magic, at work. Enraged by what he sees, Harry stuns Umbridge and the Death Eater Yaxley, who is now head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Hermione takes the Horcrux, which Umbridge had falsely used to bolster her Pure-blood credentials, from Umbridge. By the time Harry and Hermione begin freeing the Muggle-borns, the Ministry knows that there are intruders in the building, having discovered Moody's eye missing. Once they reunite with Ron, they encourage the Muggle-borns to flee the country.

"He read Gregorovitch’s mind, and I saw this young bloke perched on a windowsill, and he fired a curse at Gregorovitch and jumped out of sight. He stole it, he stole whatever You-Know-Who’s after. And I... I think I’ve seen him somewhere..."

—Harry, telling his dream to Ron and Hermione.

They make for the exit, and as they escape, their hiding place is discovered, Ron is splinched, and they are forced to flee to the countryside, where they move from place to place, never staying anywhere for more than a night or two. One night, Harry has a vision of Voldemort interrogating Gregorovitch and realizes that Voldemort is searching for something Gregorovitch once had but which was stolen by a young man long ago.

After several weeks of travelling in which they accomplish nothing, they overhear a conversation between Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Dean Thomas, and the GoblinsGriphook and Gornuk, wherein it is revealed that Godric Gryffindor's sword, which had been in Dumbledore's possession, and was then sent to the Lestrange Vault for protection, is actually a copy. They also mention that the whereabouts of the real sword are unknown. Harry, Hermione, and Ron also overhear that some students attempted to steal the sword from Severus Snape, prior to its removal. Upon hearing that the perpetrators were their friends, the trio worry about the punishment but are relieved to hear that their friends only served detention with Hagrid. Harry and Hermione hear all this and are heartened, and after questioning the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, they discover that the sword had last been used by Dumbledore on another Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring. Hermione realizes that it must be impregnated with Basilisk venom, and therefore can destroy Horcruxes. Ron is discouraged, feeling that with the sword now necessary as well, and out of reach, their quest is becoming hopeless. He argues with Harry and angrily departs claiming that Hermione had chosen Harry over himself when she decides to stay, leaving Harry and Hermione together.

Hermione is distraught upon Ron's departure, and Harry is angry, but the two of them realise they will have to continue without him. After many more listless weeks, they make their way to Godric's Hollow on the off-chance Dumbledore left the sword there for them, with Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History Of Magic. Arriving in Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve, the two first visit the graveyard where both Harry and Dumbledore's families are buried. After sharing an emotional moment and laying a wreath on Harry’s parents' grave, they visit the memorial to Harry's family, and then encounter the historian Bathilda Bagshot, who was an old family friend of the Dumbledores.

Harry and Hermione follow her to her old, disgusting home, where they find a picture frame of the Dark WizardGellert Grindelwald, who is Bathilda's great-nephew, and long ago, was Dumbledore's childhood friend. However, Harry and Hermione don't realise that the real Bathilda has been killed and her body has been taken over by Voldemort's pet, (And lately discovered a Horcrux) Nagini. Only Harry can understand the very little that Bathilda speaks as he can speak Parsletongue, and Nagini is a snake.

Bathilda issues Harry up the stairs, ordering Hermione to stay behind, in order to ambush Harry. Hermione seems reluctant, but Harry thinks that by following her perhaps she may present him with the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Only once Harry is upstairs does Bathilda's body crumble and Nagini flops out, and begins attacking Harry.

Upon leaving, Hermione runs upstairs to attempt to help Harry, unfortunately her Blasting Curse rebounds in the chaos and cracks Harry's wand into two.

"He changed, Harry, he changed! It’s as simple as that! Maybe he did believe these things when he was seventeen, but the whole of the rest of his life was devoted to fighting the Dark Arts! Dumbledore was the one who stopped Grindelwald, the one who always voted for Muggle protection and Muggle-born rights, who fought You-Know-Who from the start, and who died trying to bring him down!"

—Hermione, to Harry.

Harry looking at his broken wand.

Harry was briefly incapacitated following the incident in Godric's Hollow, and he and Hermione spend Harry's few days convalescence in the Forest of Dean where Harry sits down to vindictively read Rita Skeeter's book The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. He discovers that the boy he saw in Lord Voldemort's mind is none other than Grindelwald and that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been good friends as teenagers and had shared the idea that wizards should rule over the Muggles. Making this discovery, Harry reaches a new level of disillusionment with his former mentor.

Harry Potter: "You’ve sort of made up for it tonight. Getting the sword. Finishing off the Horcrux. Saving my life."

Ron Weasley: "That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was."

Harry Potter: "Stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was. I’ve been trying to tell you that for years."

— Harry and Ron, after destroying the locket.

The silver doe

While Hermione sleeps, Harry resumes the position of keeping watch outside the tent. Not long after a silver doe appears. It is obviously a Patronus, due to the silvery texture and appearance. It was later revealed that the doe was the Patronus of Severus Snape.

The doe leads Harry away from the camp sight and to a small, frozen lake, where at the bottom, lay Godric Gryffindor's Sword. Harry breaks the ice using Hermione's wand, strips to his underpants and attempts to retrieve the sword. Only when he attempts does Salazar Slytherin's necklace (Horcrux) sense that the sword is near, it wraps itself so tightly around Harry's neck that it actually cuts the flesh.

Ron appears in time to leap into the water and rescue Harry, as well as retrieve the sword. Harry dresses himself and lays the necklace on a flat rock for Ron to stab with the sword.

Harry speaks Parseltongue in order for the necklace to open and be able to be killed. Tom Riddle's eye appears when it opens and a voice begins speaking to Ron, teasing him.

From the locket appeared two figures: Riddle-Harry, and Riddle Hermione, who was more beautiful and at the same time more terrible than the real Hermione. They tease him, all the time Harry is telling Ron to stab it; Riddle-Harry saying that Ron's mother would rather have had him for a son than Ron. Riddle-Hermione saying that nobody would ever look to him when Harry was around. She then proceded to wrap her arms around Riddle-Harry. They kissed romantically, and it was at that moment that Ron almost failed in both spirit and mind.

He overcame he weakness and smashed it with the sword, and the Horcrux was destroyed. Harry tells Ron that he has no deep romantic love feelings for Hermione, he loves her like a sister, and that she cried for weeks once he left. When they headed back to the camp, they awake Hermione to tell her of the good news: The Horcrux was destroyed and Ron had returned. She, however, didn't seem too happy with Ron leaving them.

Ron reveals that he was able to find Harry with the aid of Dumbledore's gift, the Deluminator , which has more powers than they originally thought. He also reveals that Voldemort's name has been "made Taboo :" anybody saying it can be traced and located, which is how they were found in the café back on Tottenham Court Road . Hermione, who has recently been pouring over The Tales of Beedle the Bard realises their next necessary step. She tells them that they need to speak to Xenophilius Lovegood and ask him about Grindelwald's mark, a symbol which has shown up time and again during their journey. Only days after escaping from Voldemort in Godric's Hollow, the trio begin searching the hills surrounding Ottery St. Catchpole for the Lovegood residence.

"There is nothing Dark about the Hallows — at least, not in that crude sense. One simply uses the symbol to reveal oneself to other believers, in the hope that they might help one with the Quest."

—Xenophilius Lovegood, about the Deathly Hallows.

The Deathly Hallows Symbol.

At the Lovegood House, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are told that the symbol actually represents the Deathly Hallows. Mr. Lovegood then introduces them to The Tale of the Three Brothers, a fairy tale about three men who bested Death and who received a magical item for it: An unbeatable wand (called the Elder Wand), a stone which could bring back the dead (the Resurrection Stone), and an Invisibility Cloak that can hide the wearer from Death itself and never failed with age, unlike most cloaks of that nature. Lovegood tells them that the three items are collectively represented by the symbol, and whoever masters all three artefacts will be the "Master of Death." Harry believes his own cloak to be the legendary Invisibility Cloak and is very excited. They soon discover that Lovegood has betrayed them to the Ministry; Luna, his daughter, was taken captive earlier in the year because he was encouraging support for Harry, and he believes that giving them Harry will win her freedom. The trio barely escape from the Death Eaters sent to fetch them. In an ingenious plan to ensure escape, but also protect Ron's alibi, Hermione throws Harry's cloak over Ron and blasts away the floor. When they are sighted by the Death Eaters, she guides Harry and Ron as they Disapparate away.

After hearing the story of the Deathly Hallows, Harry becomes obsessed with finding them, and he begins to neglect his duties as the group's leader as he sits in reverie. With Harry not performing, Ron steps up to lead them as they venture up and down the island checking any place with links to the Wizarding world for signs of another Horcrux. After listless weeks, Ron finally manages to tune into a rogue wizard radio broadcast called "Potterwatch," run by Lee Jordan, which reports the news as it actually happened unlike the Daily Prophet. The broadcast is quite entertaining, and Harry laughs for the first time in months. However, after the programme, Harry accidentally says Voldemort's name, breaking the Taboo, and a group of Snatchers find Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next. Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book."

—Bellatrix Lestrange, to Ron.

Hermione is tortured by Bellatrix.

Hermione's quick thinking comes in handy when she uses a jinx to disfigure Harry's face so he is not immediately recognizable. They all give false aliases, but the Snatchers soon find out their true identities, albeit a little uncertain. Because of their uncertainy, the Snatchers take the trio to Malfoy Manor.

There, they are taken into the drawing room to have their identities confirmed. The Malfoys' son Draco is home for the Easter holidays. He is reluctant to identify the trio, but when Lucius Malfoy is satisfied that the prisoners are indeed Harry Potter and his accomplices, he reaches for his Dark Mark. At that instant Bellatrix Lestrange, who was with the Malfoys, stops Lucius, because she saw a sword being carried by one of the Snatchers and believes it to be Godric Gryffindor's Sword which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts. She singles out Hermione for torture and interrogation to find how the trio acquired the sword, while Ron and Harry are locked in a cellar with Dean, Griphook, Garrick Ollivander and Luna. Hearing Hermione's cries, Harry locates his broken shard of mirror, sees a flash of blue in it resembling Dumbledore's eye and in desperation begs for help. Upstairs, Hermione lies to Bellatrix, saying that the sword is a copy. Bellatrix sends Draco to fetch Griphook who Harry convinces to corroborate Hermione's story. As Draco slams the door, Dobby Apparates into the cellar. Harry orders him to take Dean, Luna and Ollivander first and then return for everyone else. When Dobby Disapparates, the noise is heard upstairs, and Wormtail is sent to investigate.

When he reaches the cellar, Harry and Ron attack him, but Wormtail resists, losing his wand to Ron, but grabbing Harry's neck with his artificial hand. Harry calls upon the Life debt that Wormtail owes him, and Pettigrew momentarily hesitates, and his artificial hand, made for him by Voldemort three years previous, immediately strangles Wormtail to death for the mercy he has shown. Ron and Harry, helpless to aid him, rush upstairs to save Hermione. They peek through the door to find Hermione passed out on the floor, and Bellatrix questioning Griphook. When they crash through the door, Ron disarms Bellatrix, and he and Harry begin a fierce exchange of spells with the others in the room. They are forced to stop when Bellatrix threatens to cut Hermione's throat. As Voldemort approaches, Dobby returns and drops a chandelier onto Bellatrix. Ron sprints to pull Hermione from the wreckage as Harry wrests three wands from Draco; his wand and the wands Ron and Harry had taken during the earlier skirmish. Harry picks up Griphook, seizes Dobby and Disapparates as Ron does the same with Hermione. They escape as Voldemort is close to arriving, but Dobby is struck by Bellatrix's knife as they flee.

They arrive at Bill and Fleur's home, Shell Cottage. Regaining his senses, Harry realises that Dobby is dying. He digs Dobby's grave by hand as Hermione and Griphook's injuries are tended to in the house. The group holds a little funeral for the brave elf who saved their lives. While digging the grave, Harry did some thinking. He realises that Dumbledore had been right about Dobby and Ron and Pettigrew. He comes to a reaffirmation of faith in his old mentor and loses his burning obsession with the Deathly Hallows. When the assembled group head back into the Cottage, Harry questions Griphook about how to break into Gringotts Wizarding Bank, believing that a Horcrux is hidden in Bellatrix's vault. This feeling was based on her reaction when she saw that the trio had Gryffindor's Sword. Harry then questions Ollivander about the Elder Wand, revealing his deep insight into Lord Voldemort's way of thinking. Ollivander also gives him a lesson on wand mechanics; when a wizard disarms, kills, or otherwise defeats another wizard, they can use that wizard's wand as well as their own. Harry tells Ron and Hermione that Voldemort is seeking the Elder Wand as the way to defeat him. While telling them this, he receives confirmation as he has a vision in which Voldemort successfully steals the Elder Wand from the tomb of Dumbledore.

"To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs."

—Bill, to Harry.

Harry thinking at Shell Cottage.

Griphook eventually agrees to help the trio, in return for Gryffindor's sword. Harry reluctantly concedes that he will have to give up the sword but plans to hand over the sword after all the Horcruxes have been destroyed. He tells Griphook he can have the sword after they have broken in to the Bank, but he is very careful not to mention when, as Goblins are notoriously known for going back on their word. The trio spend nearly a month planning in one of the Cottages cramped bedrooms, only seeing daylight or the other occupants of the house at mealtimes. Harry, as well as the other two, comes to strongly dislike Griphook, because the Goblin seems to relish causing pain. During their stay, Remus Lupin visits them again. Chastened by Harry, he had returned to Tonks by Christmas, and he came to Shell Cottage to tell everyone that she has given birth to a son who does not have his werewolf tendencies, but instead possesses Tonks's Metamorphmagus abilities. Lupin also gives Harry the honour of being Teddy Lupin's godfather. After many rounds of wine, he departs, and as they are cleaning up, Bill corners Harry and tells him to be wary of Griphook.

After extensive planning, on 1 May the group sets out for Gringotts to obtain the Horcrux. Hermione poses by way of Polyjuice Potion as Bellatrix using a lone hair that had been left on her during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Ron is disguised as a fictional foreign wizard, and Griphook and Harry go under the Invisibility cloak. Through their use of disguises and Harry's repeated use of the Imperius Curse, they manage to gain access to the bank. As they are travelling down the tunnel to the Lestrange Vault, their cover is blown, and the Gringotts' defences are set against them. With Griphook's help, they gain access to the vault and find the Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry grabs it, but Griphook betrays their presence and flees with the sword. Many guards begin to pour into the vicinity as Harry, Ron, and Hermione exit the vault. Fighting off the guards, they narrowly escape on the back of a captive half-blind dragon which is released into the wild following their escape. Gryffindor's sword is kept by Griphook.

"Well, I don't know how to break this to you, but I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."

—Ron, to Harry.

The trio riding the dragon.

Sitting on the edge of the lake where they dismounted from the dragon, Harry has a vision shortly after their escape in which Lord Voldemort lists off all the locations of the Horcruxes, now that he realises they are being sought after and destroyed. Voldemort inadvertently reveals that the unknown Horcrux, which Harry suspects to be a relic of Rowena Ravenclaw, founder of Ravenclaw house, is safe within Hogwarts Castle, confirming a belief Harry had shared with the others to much derision. Harry realises that if they want to get the Horcrux within Hogwarts, they need to do so immediately, before Voldemort finds his other Horcruxes are missing. They immediately Apparate to Hogsmeade to find a way to sneak into the school.

"Nice job, I hope? Pleasant? Easy? Sort of thing you'd expect an unqualified wizard kid to be able to do without overstretching themselves?"

—Aberforth, about Dumbledore's mission.

Ariana Dumbledore's Paint.

When they arrive in Hogsmeade, they immediately trigger the Caterwauling Charm placed on the village alerting the Death Eaters to their presence. Harry and friends are cornered by the Death Eaters, but are saved by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's younger brother. Harry also discovers that Aberforth was the one he saw in the mirror at Malfoy Manor. During the ensuing argument, Aberforth urges the trio to flee, but they refuse to give up. Aberforth then tells them the truth about Ariana; She had been a witch, but an attack on her by Muggle boys had left her unable to control her nautral magical abilities. Percival attacked the Muggles in retaliation. The family kept Ariana and her mental, magical condition secret, to protect her, with Kendra and Aberforth caring for her the most. However, one of Ariana's furious outbursts killed Kendra. With Aberforth about to return to school, Albus took over care of Ariana. At this time he was introduced to Gellert Grindelwald. He began to neglect his duties as he was planning his uprising with Grindelwald, for which he was confronted by Aberforth. Grindelwald, Albus, and Aberforth got into a duel, in which Ariana was accidentally killed in the struggle.

"Blimey, Neville, there’s a time and a place for getting a smart mouth."

—Ron, to Neville.

Neville greets the trio

After sharing this sad story and being told that his brother regretted that moment to his death, Aberforth opens a secret passageway to Hogwarts, where Neville Longbottom greets them. The trio learn that Neville, Ginny, and Luna had restarted Dumbledore's Army to resist the regime of Severus Snape, who was made headmaster following Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry and that the members of the reconstituted D.A. have taken shelter in the Room of Requirement to hide from Snape's forces.

Believing that Harry's return meant revolution, Neville summons members of the D.A. who have been forced to leave the school, including Ginny, Luna, and Dean, or those who had graduated previously, such as Fred and George Weasley, Harry's old Quidditch team, and his first girlfriend, Cho Chang. Harry asks them what they know about any artefact that belonged to Ravenclaw, which Dumbledore believed to be a Horcrux. However, the only known relic is Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, which has been lost for centuries. Wishing to see what the diadem looks like, Harry and Luna venture under Harry's Invisibility cloak to Ravenclaw Tower. He reveals himself to get a closer look at the diadem but is seen by Alecto Carrow who had been stationed to watch the room.

She immediately summons Voldemort, but she is immediately stunned by Luna. Soon, both Amycus Carrow and Minerva McGonagall arrive to see what the disturbance is about. When Carrow suggests that they push the blame off onto the students, McGonagall protests, and he spits in her face. In a rage, Harry uses the Cruciatus Curse on him until he passes out. Telling her that he is on a mission for Dumbledore, Harry asks McGonagall for time to search the castle, but before plans can be made, they come across Severus Snape in the corridor, and in a fierce duel, Snape is run out of the building.

Shortly after Harry's arrival, Voldemort discovers that two more of his Horcruxes have disappeared and gathers an army of Death Eaters, Dementors, and his other supporters, in order to assault the school and kill Harry once and for all. After forcing Snape to flee, McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who only recently arrived, raise their own army consisting of teachers, students, the D.A, the Order of the Phoenix, and enchanted statues and suits of armour.

"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

—Voldemort, to the people at Hogwarts.

The Grey Lady.

At midnight, the Battle of Hogwarts begins. All the while Harry tries to locate the diadem and Ron and Hermione who had gone missing. Thinking that the diadem had not been seen in living memory, he speaks with the Grey Lady and surmises that Tom Riddle had learned of the diadem's location from her. Shortly after the battle begins, Harry recalls seeing the diadem in the Room of Requirement and meets up with Ron and Hermione, who had disappeared in order to retrieve Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy the next two Horcruxes. The trio re-enter the Room of Requirement, and Ron remembers all about the house-elves in the kitchens. He does not feel that it is right to order them to die for them, so he makes his thoughts known. With a clatter, Hermione drops all the basilisk fangs she is holding, and she and Ron share a deep, meaningful kiss, completely forgetting that Harry is there and that there is a war going on. After being reminded, they search the Room of Hidden Things, a version of the Room of Requirement that students have used to hide contraband over the centuries. Once they are inside, they are confronted by Malfoy and his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. During a short duel in which Crabbe aims to kill, Crabbe mishandles the Fiendfyre spell, causing a huge inferno. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Goyle escape on two old brooms, and the diadem is destroyed by the fire, along with Crabbe. Soon after, Fred and Percy Weasley, who had just reconciled with his family, are seen duelling with two Death Eaters one of whom is Minister for MagicPius Thicknesse. After they defeat them, there is an explosion in the corridor, and Fred is killed, deeply affecting his brothers, as well as Harry and Hermione.

With the cup and diadem destroyed, only one Horcrux remains. Voldemort's snake, Nagini. The trio fight their way through the castle, as the two armies battle furiously, dodging curses, Death Eaters, and Acromantulas and saving Draco Malfoy's life again along the way. When they reach the Entrance Hall, they find that Giants have joined the battle. Before leaving Hermione spots Fenrir Greyback trying to attack Lavender Brown on a balcony and casts a spell that knocks them off. While Lavender "Stirs Feebly" Feneir tries to get up but Sybill Trelawney drops a Crystal Ball on his head and he is knocked Unconscious. Trelawney then grabs another Crystal ball and uses her wand to throw one with a "tennis like swerve". Once onto the grounds, they come across Voldemort's Dementors. Unable to produce Patronuses, because of the horrors they have witnessed all seems lost, and Harry even welcomes the oblivion that accompanies the Dementor's Kiss. They are saved by Seamus, Luna, and Ernie, who conjure Patronuses long enough for Harry to summon the will to drive the Dementors away. Then Seamus, Luna, and Ernie run to safety.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally make it to the Shrieking Shack, where Voldemort is waiting out the battle. They discover him talking to Severus Snape, who wishes to participate in the battle to find Harry, but Voldemort's only concern is that the Elder Wanddoesnot seem to work properly for him. He coldly sets his snake on Snape, believing that the wand cannot serve him while Snape is still alive, as Snape had killed Dumbledore.
As he dies, Harry runs out to him, and Snape gives up his memories to Harry, and his last request was to look into Harry's eyes who has the same eyes as his mother Lily. Voldemort then delivers an ultimatum; if Harry does not surrender himself in an hour, he will join the battle, and all in Hogwarts will be destroyed. Returning to the castle, Harry sees the defenders looking for loved ones and counting up the dead, with Lupin and Tonks laying next to Colin Creevey and Fred. After seeing this, Harry makes his way up to Dumbledore's office to view the memories Snape left him.

It is revealed that Snape was, in fact, a triple agent for Dumbledore, motivated to protect Harry's life at all costs by his lifelong strong and true romantic love for Harry's mother and that he had been loyal to Dumbledore ever since Voldemort had decided to go after the Potters. Dumbledore, cursed to die when he placed on the Gaunt family ring, not thinking that the Horcrux would carry a curse, had asked Snape to kill him if the situation demanded it, to spare himself a longer death at the hands of Voldemort's henchmen. It is also shown that Snape had possession of the true Sword of Gryffindor in his Headmaster office and then passed it on to Harry by using his doe Patronous as a way to unknowingly pass it on.

"He wanted to be stopped, to be dragged back, to be sent back home... But he was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here..."

—Harry, about Hogwarts.

Harry's mother comforting him before his "death"

Harry also learns from these memories that Dumbledore believed Harry to be a Horcrux and that Voldemort cannot be killed until Harry himself is killed by Voldemort. Now resigned to his fate, Harry sneaks out of the castle under his Invisibility cloak and stops to tell Neville to kill Nagini, the other remaining Horcrux, at all costs. Then, before he sacrifices himself to Voldemort, he opens the Golden Snitch left to him by Dumbledore to reveal the Resurrection Stone. He uses it to summon the spirits of his parents, of Sirius, and of Remus Lupin, all of whom provide emotional support as Harry walks to his death. He enters Voldemort's camp and shows himself. He tries to betray no fear as he allows himself to be hit with the Killing Curse

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

—Dumbledore, to Harry.

Harry during his "death"

However, Harry finds himself in a sort of dream and meets the deceased Albus Dumbledore in what appears to be a deserted King's Cross Station. He appears to be in a Limbo state in which he can speak to Dumbledore. Here, it is explained he cannot be killed by Voldemort whilst Voldemort lives. Since Voldemort used Harry's blood to recreate his body, Lily's protection over Harry binds the two and therefore tethers Harry to life. Dumbledore then gives Harry a theory on why his wand acted of its own accord: as a result of their encounter in the Little Hangleton graveyard three years previous, Harry's wand was imbued with some of the qualities of Voldemort's wand and regurgitated some of his own magic back at him. He also discovers that the part of Voldemort's soul he had had inside himself has been separated by the attempted murder and is represented in his vision by a flayed naked child, whimpering in agony and abandoned under a bench, which is Voldemort.

Dumbledore confides in Harry that he had sought the Hallows, with Grindelwald, for less than noble reasons and that the death of his sister resulted from their association. In Dumbledore's opinion, only Harry is worthy of possessing the Hallows. With all of his secrets in the open, Harry can no longer find himself angry with Dumbledore even after all he has been through. Harry is given the choice of moving on or returning to try to stop Voldemort. Harry chooses to return to life and fight back.

"So it all comes down to this, doesn’t it? Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does... I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

—Harry, to Voldemort.

Hagrid carrying Harry's body.

Back in the forest, Voldemort appears to have collapsed at the same time Harry did. Fearing not all went according to plan, he orders Narcissa Malfoy to check and see if Harry is dead, and after being subtly notified that her son, Draco, is alive and well inside Hogwarts, she tells Voldemort and the Death Eaters that Harry is indeed dead, so that she may enter the castle and find him. Voldemort then attempts to desecrate Harry's "corpse" by casting the Cruciatus Curse on it multiple times, but Harry feels no pain from these curses. Afterwards, Voldemort orders Hagrid to carry Harry back to Hogwarts during the Death Eaters victory march. Voldemort then challenges Hogwarts to surrender but is faced down by Neville. Voldemort proceeds to torture Neville by summoning the Sorting Hat, placing it on his head, and setting it aflame. At that moment, Hogwarts reinforcements appear near the school boundaries and run toward the school, the centaurs join the side of Hogwarts in the battle, and the battle recommences.

In the confusion, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. Nagini, the last Horcrux, is beheaded by Neville using Gryffindor's sword, pulled from the Sorting Hat in part of his bravery. Harry fights his way into the Great Hall casting curses and protective spells from underneath his cloak, where a huge battle is taking place as Hogwarts fighters, Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, and other forces battle the remnants of Voldemort's army. At the height of the battle, Voldemort fights Minerva McGonagall, his old mentor Horace Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, while nearby Bellatrix battles Ginny, Luna, and Hermione. After Ginny narrowly avoids a Killing Curse, her mother takes over and brutally kills Bellatrix in a duel. In his deep fury and anger, Voldemort tries to kill Mrs. Weasley, but Harry reveals himself by casting a Shield Charm to protect her.

Coming face-to-face with Voldemort in the Great Hall, Harry is seemingly faced with impossible odds — Voldemort possesses the Elder Wand and has murdered who he thought to be its previous master, Severus Snape. Harry believes differently based on the information he received from Ollivander; as Harry sees it, Draco Malfoy became the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore against his will, therefore, defeating him. Since Harry had taken Malfoy's wand at Malfoy Manor, full mastery and control of the wand then passed to Harry, not Voldemort. The two debate this point among the verbal barbs they trade, with Harry revealing that Dumbledore also asked Snape to kill him if necessary to prevent anyone else from defeating him, but that not all went according to plan. Harry also attempts to save Voldemort, who he is calling by his given name, Tom Riddle, from himself by telling him to feel some remorse for all he had done. This shocks Voldemort more than anything Harry has ever said to him up to this point.

Harry explains all of this to Voldemort, who chooses not to believe him. Just as the sun breaks the horizon, Voldemort attacks Harry. When Voldemort's Killing Curse from the Elder Wand strikes Harry's Disarming Charm, the Elder Wand flies out of Voldemort's hand into Harry's hand and the Killing Curse is directed towards Voldemort. Harry's theory has been proven correct — the Elder Wand refused to kill its true master. Voldemort, bereft of all his Horcruxes, finally dies and moves on the afterlife at long last.

In the story's epilogue, taking place nineteen years later, that is in 2017, after the Battle of Hogwarts, thirty-six-year-old Harry and thirty-five-year-old Ginny had married and bore three children named James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. Neville Longbottom has become the Herbology professor at Hogwarts. Thirty-six-year-old Ron and Hermione are married and have two children named Rose and Hugo. They all still remain close, best friends. Draco Malfoy is married to a woman (later disclosed as Astoria Greengrass) and has a boy named Scorpius. He has been spared an imprisonment in Azkaban.

They all meet at King's Cross, prepared to send their children to Hogwarts at the beginning of term. Albus secretly confides in his father his fear of being Sorted into Slytherin. Harry tells him that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of whom was a Slytherin and probably the bravest man he ever knew. When Albus is still scared, Harry tells him that the Hat will also take into account his personal preference, as it had so many years before when Harry himself was sorted — something he has never shared with any of his kids. As he watches the train pull away, Harry absent-mindedly touches the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, noting that it had not pained him for whole nineteen years. The story closes with the words, "All was well."

List of deaths

This book has the most named casualties of any book in the series. In all, more than 50 people were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Several people were injured, including George Weasley losing an ear with the Sectumsempra curse in the Battle of the Seven Potters. Here is a list of people killed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in order of death/murder:

The series of books was originally published as a children's book by UK publishers Bloomsbury, and US publishers Scholastic. However, it rapidly became a phenomenal success both amongst children and amongst adults. The books each chronicle one year at school for the characters concerned and follows a long tradition of children serial books about life in schools. Perhaps unlike some of the traditional series of this format, each book has matured and expanded in complexity and scope compared to the last, approximately developing with the age of the principal characters. Although it is reported that the author had comprehensively plotted the entire series of books before the first was published, and that this plot remains unchanged, she has also stated that it has undergone a number of revisions as it has progressed. This may in part reflect the extraordinary success of the book and a need to direct its content more towards the adult market. The books started as relatively slim volumes of 300 pages, but have grown towards 700 pages as the series progressed.

Choice of title and symbolism

Artwork of the American deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Rowling first announced that she had a particular title in mind in the latter part of 2006. However, she also announced that she had a final choice of three possible titles, before choosing this one. She has declined to explain the meaning of the title, or say what the other two possibilities were, on the grounds that doing so would reveal information about the book. The other titles she had in mind were Harry Potter and the Elder Wand, which became a chapter title, Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest, and Harry Potter and the Hallows of Hogwarts. There were also fan rumours of titles such as "Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch," "The New Beginning," the "Pyramids of Furmat," "The Forest of Shadows," the "Fortress of Shadows," and others.

Hallows is a word which has fallen into disuse in modern English except as part of some names. It is popular to name churches after saints, and there are a number of 'Church of all Hallows' in Britain, as well as some schools. Similarly the holiday of Halloween is derived from "All Hallows' Eve." This usage of the word refers to saints, relics of saints, or the places where saints have lived or their remains have rested (making those places holy). Part of the mythology of hallows is that the spirit of the saint remains in his relics, and may come to the aid of those who seek it. Thus pilgrims venture to see holy relics or visit shrines hallowed by the saints.

Rowling has chosen to use the word 'deathly' in the title, rather than deadly. These two are similar in sound, and sometimes confused in meaning, but are different. A 'deathly hallow' need not be dangerous, but rather in some way is related to death.

The word 'hallows' has been used in a number of legends to represent important and powerful objects. The Tuatha de Danaan in Ireland possessed six hallows: Manannan's horse, Goibniu's shirt and tools, Lochlan's helmet, Alba's shears, a fishskin belt and Asal's pig bones. These were guarded by four Guardians of the Hallows: Manannan, Lugh, Cumhal and Fionn. As the legend changed, the hallows became four objects: The spear of Lugh, Stone of Fal, Sword of Nuada and Dagda's Cauldron.

The symbolism of four hallowed objects extends into the suits which now appear on tarot cards. These are wands, coins, cups, and swords. In particular the picture card, the Magician, shows a man waving a wand, with a sword, cup, and engraved metal disc on a table in front of him. Sources suggest that the figure depicted may represent Hermes, the same ancient god as the bust which Rowling used to announce completion of the book. Hermes is also considered a messenger in older legends.

The coronation ceremony for monarchs still contains four ritual objects, now represented as the sceptre, sword, ampulla of oil and crown. Similar objects also appear in Arthurian legends where the Fisher King is the guardian of four hallows; the sword, spear, dish and holy grail. Earlier Arthurian legends also refer to a set of thirteen treasures of Britain.

The symbolism in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows does not follow any particular legend, but there are clearly four Hogwarts founders, and Voldemort indicated that he intended to make six Horcruxes.

Harry Potter and the Relics of Death

Before the book was officially published, it became apparent that many people advertising the book in non-English-speaking countries without being able to read it, were having much difficulty working out what the words "deathly hallows" mean, when translating the title. As a result, Rowling authorized the alternative title "Harry Potter and the Relics of Death" to translate.

In the UK, a paperback edition of Deathly Hallows was issued in both children's and adult editions in 2008, roughly a year after the hard-cover. In North America, however, readers had to wait until mid-2009 before a paperback edition arrived. In Canada, only the children's edition has been published in paperback; the Raincoast Books adult edition (which corresponds to the Bloomsbury edition) does not, as of late February 2010, have a scheduled publication date. In 2010, a new UK Bloomsbury edition of the Harry Potter series was issued out, labelled the 'Signature' editions, to introduce the new generation of young readers to the Harry Potter story.

Future books

Rowling has said that she will not write any more books about Harry. However, she has also said that she may publish some of the 'background' information which she has created during the seventeen years she has been writing the books. When questioned about possible future books about Harry, she jokingly suggested Harry Potter and the Mid-Life Crisis. This background information will be released, all 18,000 words, on her new Harry Potter website, Pottermore. Pottermore will contain 18,000 words of never before seen background information about the going on's at Hogwarts, the characters and many magical creatures. Pottermore was released to the public in April, 2012

Otherwise, following the publication of Deathly Hallows, Rowling has published two additional Harry Potter-related works: Harry Potter Prequel, a short story that was written for charity in 2008, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book published at the end of 2008.

In April 2010, Rowling hinted that she might return to the Harry Potter series, but not for another 10 years.

Behind the scenes

In some American versions of this book, on page 126, the chapter is called Chapter One instead of Chapter Seven.

The Will of Albus Dumbledore - Chapter One A Mistake (pg. 126)

This book is noted for its profanity, as Aberforth Dumbledore called the three Muggle children who attacked his sister "bastards," Hermione Granger calls Ron Weasley an 'arse' and, most notably, Molly Weasley calling Bellatrix Lestrange a "bitch." Ron Weasley calls Draco Malfoy a "two-faced bastard" when he sees him trying to convince a Death Eater he is on their side. The series covers such profanities, such as when Ron Weasley insulted Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall in the third book (Chapter 9, Grim Defeat), it did not reveal the words Ron used, and when Lee Jordan insulted Draco Malfoy for playing foul in Quidditch, the word was not revealed either (Chapter 15, The Quidditch Final), and when Ron told Draco to "go and do something that Harry was sure he would have never said in front of Mrs. Weasley". Other books had used light profanity, but had never delved beyond "damn" or "hell" (although this book uses both with a much higher frequency than the first 6 books). Book six similarly used more swearing, but not as much as this book. For example, Morfin calls Merope a "slut" for marrying a Muggle.

In the Icelandic version, the book is only dedicated to only six people; Neil, Jessica, David, Kenzie, Di, and one for you, if you have watched Harry from the beginning. Anne is left out.

The Three Peverell brothers are connected to Harry Potter, Severus Snape and Lord Voldemort due to the way they die. Lord Voldemort and Antioch Peverell die for power. Severus Snape and Cadmus Peverell die for love. And Harry Potter and Ignotus Peverell greet Death as an old friend and depart that life for good. It is stated that Lord Voldemort is distantly related to Cadmus, as is Harry to Ignotus.

In chapter seven, Harry quotes that "it's not as if I'm going to marry her!" to Ron about Ginny. Ironically, he is married to her in the epilogue.

Just before the epilogue Harry says if he dies a natural death, the Elder Wand's power dies with him. In truth, he just has to be disarmed or beaten, which is fairly common for Aurors, unless there's something about the wand we do not know about, since Dumbledore agrees.